Norsk Filmdistribusjon to release for Scanbox in Norway

Norwegian distributor Norsk Filmdistribusjon will take over theatrical releases in Norway for Scandinavia’s third-biggest distributor, Scanbox Entertainment, from ActionFilm as of 1 January 2015. Scanbox previously outsourced Finnish cinema releases to Finnkino, while the Danish and Swedish markets, as well as DVD and VoD, are serviced by its offices inDenmark and Sweden.

Headquartered in Viborg, Denmark, Scanbox has a 2015 line-up spearheaded by French director Olivier Megaton’s Taken 3, set to be launched on 9 January, and which also includes US directors Tim Burton’s Big Eyes and Todd Haynes’ Carol, starring Cate Blanchett. Among its new European titles are French director Bertrand Bonello’s Saint Laurent[+] and Italian director Paolo Virzi’s Human Capital[+], which have both been submitted for the Oscars.

The company has international output deals with French director Luc Besson’sEuropaCorp and Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn’s Space Rocket Nation, adding local agreements with Denmark’s ASA Film and Four Fiction, and Finland’s Helsinki Filmi. In 2011, Scanbox strengthened its platforms by taking over Panvision’s DVD branch.

Formerly owned by Schibsted, Norsk Filmdistribusjon was last year purchased by Denmark’s Nordisk Film Distribution as part of the deal for Oslo Municipal Cinemas. This year (1 January), the company was taken over by its managing director, Frida Ohrvik, who had served in the post for 23 years, and later, Norwegian distributor Motlys acquired a 50% share in the firm. “Under Ohrvik, Norsk Filmdistribusjon has had an important significance for Norwegian film, especially for quality and arthouse cinema,” said Kenneth Wiberg, general manager of Nordisk Film Distribution.

Emma Vestrheim is the editor-in-chief of Cinema Scandinavia. Originally from Australia, she is know based in Bergen, Norway, and attends major Nordic film festivals to conduct interviews and review new films.